Immigration

If you have been the victim of domestic violence, you may qualify for a U visa. You would need to show that the abuse you suffered was actually a crime as defined by the criminal laws of the United States. For example, refusing to give you access to money or calling you mean names might not be a crime, but calling you multiple times and threatening to harm you may be. Every state has different laws, and there are also local and federal laws, so you should talk to a lawyer to find out whether your experience meets the criminal legal definition of domestic violence or of any other crime that could help you qualify for a U visa. Even if the crime in your case does not meet the criminal legal definition of domestic violence, it may still meet the definition for another U visa crime, and you could still qualify.

In addition, unlike VAWA self-petitions, the immigration status of the abuser does not matter for U visa purposes. Also, it does not matter if you are married to the abuser or not.¹ If you were abused by an intimate partner, the only thing that matters is that you meet the qualifications for getting U visa status as explained throughout this section.

Note: Here you can see our series of vlogs (videos) in Spanish, with English subtitles, where we discuss what is a U visa, what are the requirements to get a U visa and what crimes qualify someone to get a U visa, among other related topics.

¹ INA § 101(a)(15)(U)